From the Archives:
A Strength Coach’s Introduction to Kettlebells
This archived article was originally published in 2008 and is kept online for archival purposes. Facts, advice, prices, offers and links may be out of date. For current, sourced advice, see our newer guides. The content below may also be incomplete, as some of the original site was lost.
During the summer of 2007. I was getting bored with my workouts and I knew it was time for a drastic change. I had been training with barbells and dumbbells for the past 19 years and I was at the point of not wanting to train anymore, or at least conventionally, with barbells and dumbbells. It wasn’t that I was over-training; I was definitely being smart about the way I was working out and paying a lot of attention to what I was eating, as well as getting enough sleep. I was just looking for something new to try and hopefully rejuvenate my workouts.
Enter the evil Russian tool called “kettlebells”. I have known about these since the fall of 2000, when I coached at a divison three school and worked with the football team. During that time I had the opportunity to talk with John Davies and Pavel Tsatsouline. They both encouraged me to use kettlebells. After talking with them and soaking up their vast knowledge of training, I was still reluctant to use them.
In July of 2007, I finally decided to give kettlebells a try. After a month of using them, I was starting to see the benefits of their use. Not only did my back get stronger but all of my lifts started to feel better as well. I was starting to use weights that I used 10 to 15 years ago. All of this progress was made with just one simple exercise, the “kettlebell swing”.
I was extremely encouraged by these results. The start of month two saw me wanting to focus on and utilize more kettlebell exercises in my conditioning workouts. During this month, my time to do conditioning workouts was very limited (job responsibilities). Although the weather was nice, I just couldn’t get outside to do anything. I needed to keep my workouts to 30 minutes or less for conditioning. I also needed to learn how to utilize my time better for this purpose.
Not only did my back get stronger but all of my lifts started to feel better as well. I was starting to use weights that I used 10 to 15 years ago. All of this progress was made with just one simple exercise, the “kettlebell swing”.
So, I started to read articles on Dragondoor.com and soon, high-rep swings and snatches became common place in my cardio workouts. Those 2 exercises, along with sprints and burpees, sent my conditioning level through the roof.
After 2 months of that, I started to enjoy training again. I purchased two sets of kettlebells from Dragon Door. I also found myself reading articles by Mike Mahler and purchased a couple of his e-books. I really liked what Mike has to say and his philosophy on training, so I purchased a couple of his DVDs and watched them as well. He does a really good job of explaining each exercise. I started to follow one of his 16 week program suggestions. The first 4 weeks (phase 1) of this program is called the break in. The program uses barbells, but I decided to substitute kettlebells and a set of Lifeline TNT cables for a couple of the exercises.
Day 1 of the program focuses on two to three sets of five or six reps of multi-joint movements which included bottom position bench press (I did floor press), bent over row, barbell back squat, stiff legged deadlift, military press (I used the TNT cables for this one) and weighted pull-ups. Day two’s focus was two to three sets of three reps of weighted dips, bent-over rows, barbell squats, stiff-legged deadlifts, military press (floor press with KBs) and weighted pull-ups. Day three consisted of a rest-pause training protocol, where you take 90% of your 1 RM and performed six sets of one rep, with 10 seconds of rest in between each rep. The exercise for this day included military press (KBs), weighted pull-ups, stiff-legged deadlifts, back squat, bent over rows, and floor press. Following each training day you would also perform a finisher exercise. Mine consisted of 50 push-ups and 100 bodyweight squats.
I really am encouraged by the results I got from phase one of training. I am now in the second four weeks of this program (phase two) the 5 x 5 method. I just finished week three of this phase and it has taken my strength levels to a new high. The program is a four day split. Day one and three, you perform upper body exercises. This, for me, is the floor press paired with the bent-over row, and TNT press paired with weighted pull-ups. There is a two minute rest between each pairing. Day two and four consists of lower body exercises, such as stiff-legged deadlifts paired with back squats. I do try to fit in a day or two of cardio during this phase.
The program to date seems to be very effective for me. I’m making more progress then I had expected. The next phase of training for me is something I’ve never tried, German volume training. I’m excited to try this and see what results I do get.